12 Preface وَلَقَد آتَينا لُقمانَ الحِكمَةَ أَنِ اشكُر لِلَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يَشكُر فَإِنَّما يَشكُرُ لِنَفسِهِ ۖ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ حَميدٌYusuf AliWe bestowed (in the past) Wisdom on Luqman:1 “Show (thy) gratitude to God.” Any who is (so) grateful does so to the profit of his own soul: but if any is ungrateful, verily2 God is free of all wants, Worthy of all praise.The sage Luqman, after whom this Sūra is called, belongs to Arab tradition. Very little is known of his life. He is usually associated with a long life, and his title is Mu'ammar (the long-lived). He is referred by some to the age of the ‘Ād people, for whom see n. 1040 to 7:65. He is the type of perfect wisdom. It is said that he belonged to a humble station in life, being a slave or a carpenter, and that he refused worldly power and a kingdom. Many instructive apologues are credited to him, similar to Aesop’s Fables in Greek tradition. The identification of Luqman and Aesop has no historical foundation, though it is true that the traditions about them influenced each other.Cf. 14:8. The basis of moral Law is man’s own good, and not any benefit to God, for God is above all needs, and “worthy of all praise”; i.e., even in praising Him, we do not advance His glory. When we obey His Will, we bring our position into conformity with our own nature as made by Him.